Nanotubes are cylindrical structures that have a diameter of about five to about 300 nanometers and exhibit unique properties. The principal type of nanotube is the carbon nanotube. Since carbon nanotubes were discovered in NEC Laboratories in 1991, the pace of research into the intriguing properties of carbon nanotubes has accelerated. Some of the proposed intriguing applications of carbon nanotubes include field emitters of flat panel displays, memory devices, transistors, mechanical reinforcing elements, and biomedical applications. While nanotubes have promising properties, there is a significant impediment to their use in commercial applications. Namely, the current techniques for fabricating nanotubes result in batches of nanotubes that do not have uniform properties and include other undesirable materials, such as carbonaceous materials. Other techniques take too long for their use in industry. Accordingly, the nanotubes must be sorted to have uniform properties for use in an application. That is, if the application is for an integrated circuit, the nanotubes must be sorted according to their electrical properties and physical dimensions, so that the nanotubes fit the design parameters. However current techniques for nanotube sorting do not provide the yields based on either time or quantity. Accordingly, there is a need for improved nanotube and nanostructure sorting